The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) has ample potential to become a leading supplier of organic food to the world as local processors add more value to products and ship them through regional economic corridors.
A report by TechSci Research projects a compound annual growth rate of 16% for the global organic food market between 2015 and 2020. Last year, 2.3 million producers managed 43.7 million hectares of organic cultivation across the globe. North America and Europe dominated the market with a combined revenue share of 80% in 2015.
Consumer demand for organic products in the US -- the biggest market in the world -- has grown by double digits nearly every year and reached US$43.3 billion in 2015. Euromonitor International values the global market for organic, functional, allergen-free and "better-for-you" foods at $1 trillion.
"The prospect for the GMS to become a major food supplier, not only in this region but across the world, is extremely bright given the existence of a number of favourable conditions," said Pavit Ramachandran, a senior environmental specialist with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Speaking at a GMS forum in Bangkok, he said organic producers could tap into growing international demand for safe, high-quality and ethically produced goods. As well, he said, the region benefits from common agro-climatic and geographic characteristics that enable efficient production. Finally, domestic and export market requirements have led to more regional cooperation which is raising standards.
"The GMS has made exceptional progress in increasing food security while becoming a major exporter of some of the world's most important food items such as rice, seafood, coffee, tea, pepper, and a variety of meat products, while perishable foods such as fruits and vegetables have become widely available in Asean, North Asia, Europe, the Americas and beyond," he added.
The ADB has finalised a five-year action plan for 2018-22 to promote agriculture-based value chains across the sub-region. Mr Ramachandran said it would focus on inclusiveness and helping small-scale farmers and micro- and small agri-enterprises.
Food safety will be a key to acceptance of organic goods from the region. Thailand has the most advanced food safety systems in the GMS while Yunnan and Vietnam have much more capacity when compared to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, according to Thomas Weaver, a value chain specialist at Niras International Consulting in Melbourne.
"The less advanced countries, in terms of food safety systems, are also hampered by less developed transport and logistics infrastructure, which is associated with economic development, population densities and terrain," he told SciDev.Net.
He recommended that countries with more advanced food safety and risk analysis systems, and capacity to support neighbouring countries in raising workers' skills, could help improve surveillance systems and provide access to services, such as accredited food testing.
Phouang Parisak Pravongviengkham, the vice-minister of Agriculture and Forestry for Laos, said the biggest challenge for the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries is to shape food trade in the manner that improves food security and jobs.
"We need to continue to devise more and more smart policies like fair contracts and other policies to oversee procurement and insurance to ensure that small farmers and entrepreneurs get their fair share of the expanding pie," he said.
GMS countries, he said, face both unique and common challenges. For example, China needs "leaner, cleaner, safer and ecologically friendly" food products, Thailand and Vietnam face problems from climate change, and Myanmar still represents "enormous untapped potential". Laos, even with abundant natural resources, still lacks human capital, technology, financial resources and entrepreneurship.
Climate change, meanwhile, is leading to more pronounced floods and droughts, while new diseases and pests disrupt food supply, trade and transport.
"We need a paradigm shift in agriculture development to promote climate-resilient agriculture," said Dr Phouang, calling for a "trade and development agenda that does not create additional burdens on the natural ecosystem, preserves biodiversity and improves the quality of rural and urban life.
"The other big challenge is to shift the market and food trade in a manner that provides income for the poor, improves food security and nutrition and jobs, so we need to foster our group of farmers, producers' associations and cooperatives to work on assisting one another."
Liliana Annovazzi-Jakab, head of the Agricultural Quality Standards Unit at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, said producing safe and environment-friendly products is essential for the long run but the fact is that organic food will not feed the world.
"We have to look for a balance between what we call 'good chemicals' and organic, but organic cannot be done everywhere as it involves labour-intensive production in Europe, so Asian countries do have a competitive advantage in that sense," she told Asia Focus.
"There is a huge tendency in the European and US markets to go for organic and sustainable food but the drawback is certification cost. You do not just go out one day and tell your buyers that you are organic now, because you need certification and you will be audited on a weekly or monthly basis by supermarkets, traders and certifiers, so it comes with a cost which most farmers in Asia cannot afford."
There are many ways to lower costs, such as through producers' organisations that share certification costs. In Europe, government support was available initially to set up these groups, she said.
"Holland is a tiny country but it has become a big player because [its farmers] work together ... under these producers' organisations which have trading floors, organise auctions and invite the buyers."
Ms Annovazzi-Jakab also recommended that GMS countries apply international standards such as Codex for food safety or the UN standard for quality, and adapt them to local standards.
"Take something that is already out there. Obviously, the closer your standards stay to the international requirements, the easiest it is for you to get into the international market," she said.
